#6 is a white denim kilt with box pleats and plaid under pleats.
Not entirely happy with this. The pleats appear kinda stuff and tend to curl at the edges.
It was quite a challenge to sew the pleats as they had to be sewn internally to prevent the under pleat from peaking out at the rise. It ended up about an inch too big, so I might redo the front apron and reduce the width to the fringe.
Maybe denim isn't the right material for a dual pattern. Or maybe it just needs more washing to soften it up. What do y'all think?
My #6 skirt
My #6 skirt
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Re: My #6 skirt
Well done for making a good looking garment.
I have a black kilt with tartan in the pleats, which I bought some years back. I no longer wear it since it doesn't hang correctly. On my kilt, the different make up of the two materials in the pleats seems to be the reason the kilt fails. The tartan inside the pleats is too soft and has no structure, where as the outer is quite stiff in comparison.
I wonder whether you have a similar problem with the two materials in the pleats?
I have a black kilt with tartan in the pleats, which I bought some years back. I no longer wear it since it doesn't hang correctly. On my kilt, the different make up of the two materials in the pleats seems to be the reason the kilt fails. The tartan inside the pleats is too soft and has no structure, where as the outer is quite stiff in comparison.
I wonder whether you have a similar problem with the two materials in the pleats?
Daily, a happy man in a skirt...
Re: My #6 skirt
All in all, the kilt looks nice (even if I would have opted for a darker color, as I would get stains on it in an instant).
The denim might (still) be a little stiff. I once made an X-Kilt using rather stiff fabric and it didn't work at all. Maybe it becomes softer after a few washes.
Concerning the curl: try to lower the thread tension and increase the stitch length. This might help in the future. On this one: try to iron it with a lot of steam. Also some spray-on starch (is it the right term?) might help to stiffen (!) the seams.
The denim might (still) be a little stiff. I once made an X-Kilt using rather stiff fabric and it didn't work at all. Maybe it becomes softer after a few washes.
Concerning the curl: try to lower the thread tension and increase the stitch length. This might help in the future. On this one: try to iron it with a lot of steam. Also some spray-on starch (is it the right term?) might help to stiffen (!) the seams.
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robehickman
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Re: My #6 skirt
Did you under-stitch the pleat seams? One thing I would advise for doing this kind of effect is to use a lighter fabric for the contrasting pleat / godet as it helps it to collapse under the weight of the heavier body fabric.
Pleats opening up can also happen because the shaping in the waist / hip area is wrong, if an area is under tension, the pleat will hang open to release said tension.
Pleats opening up can also happen because the shaping in the waist / hip area is wrong, if an area is under tension, the pleat will hang open to release said tension.
Re: My #6 skirt
Sorry what do you mean by under-stitch the pleat seams? What I did was stitched the alternate fabric together with a regular single seam to form one long run. Then I pleated at the seams and top stitched them in place.robehickman wrote: ↑Thu Apr 30, 2026 5:13 pm Did you under-stitch the pleat seams? One thing I would advise for doing this kind of effect is to use a lighter fabric for the contrasting pleat / godet as it helps it to collapse under the weight of the heavier body fabric.
Pleats opening up can also happen because the shaping in the waist / hip area is wrong, if an area is under tension, the pleat will hang open to release said tension.
Yes I'm still struggling with how to taper the hips. According to my measurements I'm a flat rectangle with no curves at all, i.e. my waist = hip. So I just added the default 8 inch to my waist as the hip.
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robehickman
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Re: My #6 skirt
See this regarding under-stitching:Kay wrote: ↑Sat May 02, 2026 2:22 pm Sorry what do you mean by under-stitch the pleat seams? What I did was stitched the alternate fabric together with a regular single seam to form one long run. Then I pleated at the seams and top stitched them in place.
Yes I'm still struggling with how to taper the hips. According to my measurements I'm a flat rectangle with no curves at all, i.e. my waist = hip. So I just added the default 8 inch to my waist as the hip.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnRDeKqKgto
Even if your waist and hip measurements are the same, the measurement at the hip should still be a bit larger for the garment to hang well. If you look at your body from the side, the bottom will stick out more than your lower back, you need extra fabric in the hip area so that the front of the skirt hangs straight down instead of being under tension.
Also the bottom sticking out beyond the lower back means that the back pleats must be tapered, or they will pull open due to the extra fabric needed to go over the bottom.
If you have another person (male or female, doesn't matter) who is ok with you draping fabric on them, experimenting with draping pleats on a real 3D body will help you a lot to understand how this works. A dress form also works if you happen to have one.
Re: My #6 skirt
I would prefer topstitching on the pleats so they keep the folds under any circumstances.But it looks like it's already done.robehickman wrote: ↑Thu Apr 30, 2026 5:13 pm Did you under-stitch the pleat seams? One thing I would advise for doing this kind of effect is to use a lighter fabric for the contrasting pleat / godet as it helps it to collapse under the weight of the heavier body fabric.